Do you ever wonder if the foods your mom ate when pregnant influence which foods you love today? Do those foods bring you more comfort than others? I think they must.

I first tasted this potato recipe before I was born.

My mom didn’t tell me that. I just know it’s true because she makes this recipe every August and I was born in September.

Late in August my mom heads out to the garden and tugs a potato plant from the mud. If 1 to 2 inch globes of starch are clinging to the roots, she knows it’s time. She gathers the potatoes into her basket and then zig zags her way out of the maze of plants, snagging handfuls of dill fronds as she goes.

Picture taken by my mom, Phyllis Pittman, late summer 2013.

She brushes the dirt from the potato skins, washes them and then boils them in well-salted water. While the potatoes cook, she sautés onions in too much butter, adds too much cream and then throws in way way way too much fresh dill – more dill than you could ever imagine for a single recipe.

The potatoes are drained and then folded into the oniony, buttery, creamy, dilly dilly dilly mixture.

That’s how my mom always makes new baby potatoes at the end of summer. And that’s the taste of comfort to me now.

I just realized that my baba used to make this potato recipe too. And since my mom was born in September, I bet that she, like me, first tasted these potatoes before she was born.

This potato recipe stuck with my mom and I’m glad because there are few things in life that bring me as much comfort as a bowl of creamy dilly new potatoes.

I don't currently have my own garden and new baby potatoes are hard to come by. I find that small red potatoes are a great substitute. They don't have that earth-tinged just-yanked-from-the-roots taste of new potatoes but they do have the tender skin. And they look really pretty covered in green dill.

Author: Christine

Recipe type: Side Dish

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

2 lbs. new baby potatoes (or small red potatoes), the largest ones cut in half

2 tsp. plus ¼ tsp. salt, divided

3 Tbsp. butter

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

½ cup whipping cream

⅛ tsp. black pepper

1 cup of dill fronds, chopped (that is equivalent to the fronds from one 1 oz. package of fresh dill, if you, like me, don't happen to have any growing in your garden)

Instructions

Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan and just cover with cold water. Add 2 teaspoons of the salt and stir. Over high heat, warm to a simmer. Reduce heat to low. Stir and then partially cover the pot. Simmer the potatoes until the are fork tender, 5-8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add the wipping cream, remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt and the pepper. Stir. Increase the heat to medium and bring the cream up to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and add the dill.

Drain the potatoes and add them to the skillet, using a spoon to turn them over in the cream sauce.

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Here are all the wonderful comfort foods that the other bloggers are sharing today. Don’t forget to scroll down to enter our giveaway for a food processor, a slow-cooker, a French oven and a Jam/Jelly Maker.

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And now scroll down to the comments and tell me, is there a particularly comforting potato recipe (or any other recipe) that you’re pretty sure you tasted before you were born? Do you think the foods your mother ate before you were born influence your tastes today?

I am sure I tasted just regular boiled potatoes with gravy before I was born. Also many, many authentic Danish Pastries. I was Born in Denmark, to Danish parents. I am also sure there were many items from smorgasbords I tastes too.

Nicole,
Potato soup is one of my favorite comfort foods too. I make it the way my mom does, with bacon. You put cubed potatoes onto boil in salted water. Then you fry chopped bacon and then add flour to the bacon fat that is rendered. Cook for a minute or two. WHen the potatoes are fork tender you pour the bacon-flour mixture into a pot, right in there with the water and the potatoes. Stir, taste, season and eat! Not much better than that. Come to think of it, I haven’t had that soup in ages. I just might make some this weekend.

Potatoes are one of my fave foods, period. But I’ve always loved mashed potatoes; we had them quite a bit growing up (and not the fake from-a-box kind). Now I invariably add a bit of garlic and cheddar cheese for a little extra to my meals.

And I do believe that there is a connection between what our moms ate while we were in utero. When she was pregnant with my younger sister, she couldn’t stand potatoes or carrots. To this day, my sister can’t stand those foods, either.

Elisabeth,
That is so interesting about your sister! I’m going to ask my mom if there were any foods she disliked when pregnant and see if they match any of my dislikes. How fun! (Your mashed potatoes sound delicious. I love them too, plain with butter, salt and pepper or loaded up with other things. As long as they’re soft and potatoey, I’m a happy girl).

Noreen,
Here’s something interesting. My mom never made shepard’s pie. Not sure why not. It just wasn’t something that I had growing up. But now I’m married to a Brit and so that is his comfort food. And it very very quickly became mine too. We have it often in the fall and winter.

Ligia,
I bet they’re very similar. I’m going to try making them with sour cream because I always always have that on hand and rarely have the whipping cream. It would be super convenient if I could get that comfort without needing a special ingredient. Thanks for the idea!!

Dawna,
What sort of potato pancake does your mom make? Are they the really crunchy kind or the softer kind that has a bit of a batter to them? My mom and Baba made the latter and I love them that way, with sour cream instead of apple sauce. But I also do the crispy ones for me and my husband if we’re having smoked salmon for supper. A great pair!

I’m not sure about potato recipes but my mom did eat a ton of slim jims and chocolate ice cream. I think it’s totally influenced my taste because I love both today for sure. She does have an amazing augratin potato recipe that she makes now that I love…its so sinful, lots and lots of heavy cream and cheese…yum!

Melissa,
That augratin recipe sounds amazing! Any chance she’d share the recipe with me? I’d love to check it out. That’s funny about the slim jims and chocolate ice cream. I need to ask my mom what foods she loved when pregnant to see if it influenced me at all.

Karen,
Wow! I love that your pregnancy cravings are showing up in your daughter’s food preferences. How cool is that? (I love mashed and scaolloped potatoes too. I haven’t done scalloped potatoes in awhile. Thanks for the reminder of a true favorite dish!)

Not so much for me, but my son definitely came out of the womb with a taste for Indian and spicy food. By 8 months he was eating finely shredded curry chicken and now at 4 years old regularly eats things like Sriracha flavored potato chips. I had major Indian and hot wing cravings while I was pregnant and ate both frequently.

Allie,
I can’t believe your son likes such spicy stuff. We tried giving our kids bits of spice when very young hoping they would acquire a taste for it but no dice. My son even complains that garlic is spicy. We keep trying with subtle little bits hoping that it will work someday. Now I’m wondering if I should have had more spicy food when pregnant. I had such bad heartburn though that I can’t imagine it was appealing at the time. Oh well!

My kids don’t like potatoes much either, except idmf I roll mash into balls and make snowmen. And fries. With this recipe I rinse them and then cut them into mini fries. They eat them if I also give them ketchup *sigh*.

Dawn, That’s too funny! I love fries too, and almost all kinds. But my favorite are the homemade fries with the skins on served in a paper bag from a chip truck. I don’t find them in as many places as I used to but when I do, I eat enough to make up for it!

Shana,
I didn’t have matzo ball soup growing up but have become a huge fan recently. There’s a Jewish restaurant near us that we go to quite often. I love their soup so much that I sometimes even order it for breakfast (with a corned beef sandwich). My husband thinks I’m nuts. But those matzo balls are so comforting and the broth must have schmaltz in it. I just can’t get enough of it! I’ve never tried making it though. Do you now of a good recipe?

My mom actually makes an amazing potato salad — it’s pretty simple and just involves dill, mayo, egg, and Greek seasoning. I have yet to try it (because I’m pretty sure I would eat it all in one sitting), but she made it for my kids last week and even THEY couldn’t get enough so I’m going to have to replicate it soon :)

Oh, I love this. I am convinced I’m obsessed with tuna melts because my mother ate them by the pound when she was pregs with me- mercury in tuna be damned, apparently, so knock on wood :)
I also believe a potato salad can never have too much dill or butter, so at least your mom was imparting subconscious wisdom while you were in there :)